Meow Meow, the New Designer Drug: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Meow Meow is the drug that’s in the news because of a bizarre incident that occurred in the UK over the holidays. A college student who was home for the festive season is reported to have stabbed his mother and then cut off his own penis while high on the drug. According to media reports, doctors successfully reattached the man’s penis. A neighbor described as a “lovely lad” who had begun “dabbling in drugs.”

Here’s what you need to know about the crazy drug:

1. French Cops Call It ’21st Century Ecstasy’

(Wikipedia)

The drug was bouncing around Europe through most of the early 2000s. The first recorded cases of the manufacture of the drug occurred in Israel in 2004. This led to the Israelis being the first to outlaw the drug in 2008. A year before, in 2007, the drug was reported in France. Upon investigation by French authorities, a paper was published that determined Meow Meow was the ecstasy of the 21st century.

3. There’s a Lack of Recognized Studies Into the Drug

Meow Meow is being sold in head shops across the world. (Wikipedia)

There have been no formal studies on the effects of the drug. All reports are based on law-enforcement descriptions of behavior. An attempted study on a group of students at John Moores University in Liverpool was discontinued after the drug was reclassified as illegal in 2010. The drug is reported to produce a similar effects as ecstasy with the desired experience being euphoria, stimulation, decreased hostility, etc. It’s supposed to take 15-45 minutes for a single dose of the drug to impact (either through snorting or oral intake). The single dose may last between two and three hours. The drug is reported to be less addictive than cocaine.

4. The Drug is Gaining Popularity in the U.S. Thanks to the Declining Purity of Other Drugs

Cocaine seized in Miami back in April 2013. (Getty)

A report by Details magazine into the drug’s growing popularity in the US attributed its success to the harmful chemicals being found in drugs such as cocaine. According to the DEA, one-third of all coke sold in the U.S. is laced with levamisole, a chemical used by vets in the deworming of animals. The Details report indicates that those who order Meow Meow online received it in 100 percent pure form.

5. It’s One of the Most Popular Drugs in the UK

Meow Meow that was seized in Oregon in 2009. (Wikipedia)

The drug is most prevalent in the UK, particularly in Wales where police claim that children have been offered the drug by dealers for as little as 10 cents. A BBC reporter claimed that while she was doing a report on the drug in Wales, she was offered Meow Meow on the street by a passer-by in the Welsh city of Llanelli. The drug’s popularity in Wales is said to be a side-effect of the declining quality of “harder” drugs such as cocaine and heroin.